Monkeyleg
Member.
Many of us--some with lives, some without--have been around THR, TFL and other forums for a number of years, even going back to the late 1990's.
One thing I've noticed is that, at particularly opportune times, posters just suddenly appear. These particular posters usually promote or denegrate a candidate or a particular piece of legislation. When the election, or the vote on the bill, is over, they're gone.
Back in 2000, when the media was hyperventilating about John McCain, there was a poster on TFL who was doing his best to swing TFL members to McCain's side. Once the primaries--and McCain's presidential aspirations--were over, that poster forever disappeared. I haven't seen him here, nor anywhere else.
When the decision was made to go into Iraq, there were some new posters who argued vehemently against that action. When Bagdahd fell, they were as gone as Hussein.
Late last year, when the battle for CCW in Wisconsin was extremely close, THR had a poster who used every opportunity to bash the bill, sometimes resorting to some very twisted logic. Since the veto override vote failed, I haven't seen him around.
Now that we see a very close race--at least to the extent that snapshots of current polls provide--between Bush and Kerry, there are a whole new crop of contrarian posters pushing for Kerry.
Rich Lucibella and Oleg Volk have very generously provided us with free forums in which we can debate all sorts of positions. And I think it's quite clear their motivations: both Rich and Oleg are staunch RKBA supporters, and have done more than 99.9% of gun owners to further that cause.
But I wonder about the hit-and-run posters, those who just show up in time to try to promote their agenda, and then disappear just as quickly.
If, for example, I were trying to work to get John McCain elected in the primaries, I'd be out on the streets distributing literature, posting yard signs, doing phone banks, and calling like-minded friends to contribute. I wouldn't be hanging out on forums trying to sway one or maybe even two opinions over the course of perhaps weeks.
So, what motivates these "interlopers?"
One thing I've noticed is that, at particularly opportune times, posters just suddenly appear. These particular posters usually promote or denegrate a candidate or a particular piece of legislation. When the election, or the vote on the bill, is over, they're gone.
Back in 2000, when the media was hyperventilating about John McCain, there was a poster on TFL who was doing his best to swing TFL members to McCain's side. Once the primaries--and McCain's presidential aspirations--were over, that poster forever disappeared. I haven't seen him here, nor anywhere else.
When the decision was made to go into Iraq, there were some new posters who argued vehemently against that action. When Bagdahd fell, they were as gone as Hussein.
Late last year, when the battle for CCW in Wisconsin was extremely close, THR had a poster who used every opportunity to bash the bill, sometimes resorting to some very twisted logic. Since the veto override vote failed, I haven't seen him around.
Now that we see a very close race--at least to the extent that snapshots of current polls provide--between Bush and Kerry, there are a whole new crop of contrarian posters pushing for Kerry.
Rich Lucibella and Oleg Volk have very generously provided us with free forums in which we can debate all sorts of positions. And I think it's quite clear their motivations: both Rich and Oleg are staunch RKBA supporters, and have done more than 99.9% of gun owners to further that cause.
But I wonder about the hit-and-run posters, those who just show up in time to try to promote their agenda, and then disappear just as quickly.
If, for example, I were trying to work to get John McCain elected in the primaries, I'd be out on the streets distributing literature, posting yard signs, doing phone banks, and calling like-minded friends to contribute. I wouldn't be hanging out on forums trying to sway one or maybe even two opinions over the course of perhaps weeks.
So, what motivates these "interlopers?"
